Ovarian mature cystic teratoma

Case contributed by Mahmoud Yacout Alabd
Diagnosis almost certain

Presentation

Pelvic pain

Patient Data

Age: 35 years
Gender: Female

Well-defined rounded lesion is seen at the lower abdomen, appearing to be in between the bowel loops, however, it has a vascular pedicle that can be traced to the right adnexa of the uterus confirming its ovarian origin. The lesion has predominantly fatty contents that show almost similar density as the peritoneal and subcutaneous fat. No calcific components. The ovarian tissue is likely to be compressed. 

Case Discussion

In this case the ovary appears to be slightly wandering upwards giving a confusing appearance to this lesion on the first look, as it can be seen in the lower abdomen rather than the pelvis and surrounded by small bowel loops. It is very important to identify the vascular supply of the lesion/ovary to confirm its nature and origin. 

Ovarian dermoids (mature cystic teratoma) are benign lesions affecting young to middle-aged women. They are usually asymptomatic unless they grow to a large size, or in cases of torsion or rupture, then they can present by abdominal pain. 

Pathologically they contain tissues from different germ cell origins (ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm). Typically the presence of fat density and an osseous component (calcification) in a cystic ovarian lesion is enough to diagnose an ovarian dermoid with confidence. In this case, only the fatty content is evident on CT, still, the differential diagnosis is very limited and an ovarian dermoid must be highly suggested.

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